Friday, October 23, 2009

I'm a very bad person. And since I'm an engineer-type person, I've totally got data to prove it. Exhibit A: This condensed milk pound cake. Do you know when I made this? Three. Weeks. Ago. And I promise, you don't want to know when I finished it off. Because it was an embarrassingly short period of time after baking it. I couldn't even wait to take pictures of it before slicing in and trying some, and that's pretty rare for me. Generally, I finish making something and am so covered in butter, sugar, and flour that I can't imagine even trying what I just made. So I hand it off to others to have. But, um, this wasn't even given to the bf. Not even a taste. That's right, I kept it all for myself.

Surprisingly, I'm not generally a fan of pound cakes. They just tend to be a bit too heavy, a bit too greasy, and (please don't kill me) a bit too buttery and one-dimensional. This one though? Oh yes. It's my new favorite poundcake. It's dense, but not heavy. Sweet, but not sugary. Perfect on its own, toasted a bit, or smeared with some raspberry jam. My favorite was having it with jam though, giving it just a little bit of pop - perfection with a cup of strong black tea.

Oh, and while Veron didn't mention it, this is freaking fantastic as a breakfast, mid-morning snack, afternoon tea, or dessert. It's like the little black dress of the loaf cake world.

So I guess I'm apologizing. For holding out on you. Because really, you need to make this pound cake, immediately. And then go out and buy the book it came from, because if this is a sign of what's in Pichet Ong's book, all the recipes will be dynamite. Which reminds me, I really need to bake more things out of it now that I own it...

Put the sugar and the chopped vanilla bean, if using, in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade and pulse until the vanilla bean is finely ground. Sift through a fine-mesh sieve and return the sugar mixture to the food procesor. If not using the vanilla bean, just put the sugar in the processor.

Add the butter and salt and process until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes, scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl occasionally. Add the condensed milk and pulse until well incorporated, about 15 times, scraping down the sides of the bowl once. Add the sifted dry ingredients and pulse until no traces of flour remain, about 10 times. Add the eggs and pulse just until combined, about 5 times. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl, add the vanilla extract if using and finish mixing by hand to fully incorporate the eggs.

Transfer the batter to the prepared loaf pan. Bake until the top is dark golden brown and a tester inserted in the center comes out clean, about 1 hour. Cool completely in the loaf an on a rack, then unmold.

21 comments:

It's a good thing you said that pound cake is fine for breakfast, because I was eating some with my morning tea as I read that.

I'm glad you found a pound cake you like! I was gonna say, if all of the pound cakes you've had have been heavy and one-dimensional, you're eating the wrong pound cakes! This one looks perfect, and the book sounds really interesting.

This looks (and sounds) so good that I even considered making it right now (as instructed). But then the reality of having to leave in three hours for a flight hit me. Thanks for bring this one to our attention!

This cake sounds fantastic and the way you describe it makes me want to bake it now, even though it is almost 8 p.m.. I think I might put on the dessert menu for next week. Thanks for the future calorie intake...ha

mmmm pound cake is so good! that is when it's well done. when I was little I used to like those frozen I think it's sara lee ones. I have made one with lemon and yogurt that comes out really good and not heavy. will have to try this one and compare.

It's sad, but my favorite poundcake is the one out of the freezer section of the grocery :P What can I say? It stays soft even when frozen! I too own the book but I need to make more stuff from it too! :)

I really liked this cake when I made it. It was.. very "cakey". That said, I wanted more condensed milk flavour from it, which I didn't get. Maybe it's there more to provide moisture. Anyway, still a great cake, though I've made other pound cakes since that I've liked more :)

Made the poundcake, accidentally used 1 stick of butter instead of 2...and it was still incredible! I almost wish I hadn't noticed my error. I'll have to try it the full-fat way, too, of course, but the texture and flavor were wonderful regardless.